CONTENT MANAGEMENT DEVICE, CONTENT REPRODUCTION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20100211979A1
• Filed: 08/31/2007
• Published: 08/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Konno, Jin, Nikaido, Tomohide
• Application Number:
  US12/675,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211979A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration

Abstract

An easy-to-operate content management device, a content reproduction method and a program which do not make a user feel troublesomeness in content operation by displaying a list of contents which can be outputted by a renderer. A portable information terminal (100) comprises a device information acquisition part (104) which acquires device information on the portable information terminal (100) and device information on a device connected to a network, a content information acquisition part (106) which acquires content information on a content stored in the portable information terminal (100) and content information on a content stored in a server connected to the network, an association list information control part (105) which generates association list information obtained by associating the renderer and the content which can be reproduced by the renderer on the basis of obtained renderer information and the content information and manages the association list information, a display processing part (109) which outputs the association list information on a display screen, and a content operation control part (108) which controls content operation on the basis of the content information and device information selected from the association list information, a content operation control request and content operation information.

Claims

1. A content managing apparatus comprising:

a device information acquiring section that acquires server information and content playback device information held by a device connected to a network;

a content information acquiring section that acquires content information of content stored in the device;

an association list information controlling section that generates and manages association list information which associates content playback devices with content that the content playback devices can output, based on the acquired content playback device information and the content information;

a display processing section that outputs the association list information to a display screen; and

a content operation controlling section that controls a content operation based on content information and content playback device information selected from the association list information, a content operation control request and content operation information.

2. The content managing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input identifying section that identifies input information; and

a command executing section that executes a command based on an identification result in the input identifying section, wherein;

the device information acquiring section acquires the server information and the content playback device information based on a device information acquisition request from the command executing section; and

the content information acquiring section acquires the content information based on a content information acquisition request from the command executing section.

3. The content managing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a terminal device information managing section that manages the server information and the content playback device information;

a content managing section that manages content that is held; and

a transmitting/receiving section that transmits the device information acquisition request, the content information acquisition request and the content operation control request, to a content playback device through a network, and that receives the content playback device information, the content information and content operation information from the content playback device.

4. The content managing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a speech processing section that outputs speech information of content provided from the content operation controlling section, wherein;

the display processing section outputs moving image information, still image information and the content operation information of content provided from the content operation controlling section, to a display screen; and

the transmitting/receiving section transmits and receives content.

5. The content managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device information acquiring section acquires the server information and the content playback device information as device information.

6. The content managing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the command executing section outputs the content information acquisition request to the content information acquiring section based on a device information determination completion report from the association list information controlling section.

7. The content managing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the command executing section outputs an association list information generation request to the association list information controlling section based on a content information acquisition completion report from the content information acquiring section.

8. The content managing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the content information acquiring section outputs the content information acquisition request based on the content information acquisition request from the command executing section and the server information from the association list information controlling section.

9. The content managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the association list information controlling section determines that device information acquired in the device information acquiring section is the server information and the content playback device information.

10. The content managing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

an input identifying section that identifies input information; and

a command executing section that executes a command based on an identification result in the input identifying section, wherein the association list information controlling section generates association list information which associates content playback devices with content that the content playback devices can play back, on a per content playback device basis, based on an association list information generation request from the command executing section, the content playback device information determined in the association list information controlling section and content information acquired in the content information acquiring section.

11. The content managing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the association list information controlling section generates and manages the association list information, and, in addition, provides the association list information to the display processing section.

12. The content managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the association list information controlling section provides association list information matching a content playback device to switch to, to the display processing section based on a content playback device display switch request from the command executing section.

13. The content managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the association list information controlling section provides cursor display control information for content to switch to, to the display processing section based on a content cursor display switch request from the command executing section.

14. The content managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the association list information controlling section provides content information and content playback device information related to selected content, and a content operation control request from the command executing section, to the content operation controlling section based on a content operation control request from the command executing section.

15. The content managing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the content managing section provides content to the content operation controlling section based on a content acquisition request from the content operation controlling section.

16. The content managing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

a terminal device information managing section that manages the server information and the content playback device information;

a content managing section that manages content that is held; and

a transmitting/receiving section that transmits a device information acquisition request, a content information acquisition request and a content operation control request, to a content playback device through a network, and that receives the content playback device information, the content information and the content operation information from the content playback device, wherein the content operation controlling section outputs a content acquisition request to the content managing section based on content information and content playback device information selected by the association list information controlling section, the content operation control request provided from the command executing section through the association list information controlling section and the content operation information managed in the content operation controlling section, acquires content from the content managing section and provides the acquired content and the content operation control request to the selected content playback device through the transmitting/receiving section.

17. The content managing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a transmitting/receiving section that transmits a device information acquisition request, a content information acquisition request and a content operation control request, to a content playback device through a network, and that receives the content playback device information, the content information and the content operation information from the content playback device, wherein the content operation controlling section provides the content operation control request to a server and a content playback device through the transmitting/receiving section, such that content stored in the server is provided to the content playback device based on content information and content playback device information selected by the association list information controlling section, the content operation control request provided from the command executing section through the association list information controlling section and the content operation information that is managed.

18. The content managing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the content operation controlling section generates and manages the content operation information based on the content operation control request, and acquires and manages the content operation control information in response to the content operation control request, from a server and the content playback device connected to a network, through the transmitting/receiving section.

19. The content managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the display processing section performs processing of displaying a cursor on content in displayed association list information based on cursor display control information from the association list information controlling section, performs processing of displaying a device information acquisition status report based on device information acquisition status report information from the device information acquiring section, performs processing of displaying a content information acquisition status report based on content information acquisition status report information from the content information acquiring section and performs processing of displaying content based on content provided from the content operation controlling section.

20. The content managing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting/receiving section provides server information and content playback device information received through a network, to the device information acquiring section, provides content information received through the network to the content information acquiring section, further transmits content and a content operation control request to a server and the content playback device through the network and receives content and the content operation information from the server and the content playback device through the network to provide the content and the content operation information to the content operation controlling section.

21. A content playback method in a content managing apparatus, the content playback method comprising the steps of:

acquiring server information and content playback device information of a device connected to the network;

acquiring content information of content stored in a server connected to the network;

generating and managing association list information which associates content playback devices with content that the content playback devices can play back, based on the acquired content device information and content information;

outputting the association list information to a display screen; and

controlling a content operation based on content information and content playback device information selected from the association list information, a content operation control request and content operation information.

22. A program causing a computer to execute the steps of:

acquiring server information and content playback device information of a device connected to the network;

acquiring content information of content stored in a server connected to the network;

generating and managing association list information which associates content playback devices with content that the content playback devices can play back, based on the acquired content device information and the content information;

outputting the association list information to a display screen; and

controlling a content operation based on content information and content playback device selected from the association list information, a content operation control request and content operation information.